the first dessert I baked for my then-fiance was red velvet cake, and he was hooked...I love to cook, and my 3 daughters are following in my footsteps. This is a collection of recipes that we love. Feel free to comment - good, bad, indifferent - if you try any, let me know how they turn out.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Gluten-Free Banana Bread (made with rice flour)

In a world of baked goods consisting of wheat flour, when that's all you know, gluten-free baking can be quite a challenge. One of my daughters is experimenting with this dietary change, and it has been a few weeks of research, trial-and-much-error, but we're learning. Since this is new thing, and it is not mandated by the doctor or anything, I didn't want to spend a large amount of money on ingredients. Hence, a banana bread recipe made with rice flour. Which I made myself. How to Make Rice FlourThe bread turned out surprisingly good. I had my doubts - I love to bake, and expect the crumb, texture and appearance of wheat-based baked goods. It's different, but a good thing - there is a bite to it; the taste was fantastic, and so far the girls approve. I put my changes in bold:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.Beat in eggs, one at a time.Stir in buttermilk and (lemon) extract and mix well.Combine rice flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add to the butter mixture.Stir in bananas and coconut and mix well.Spoon the mixture into two greased mini loaf pans (5 1/2 by 3 inches). I had enough extra batter to make 12 mini-muffins, too. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.Cool in pans 2 minutes, then turn out and cool completely. Adapted from here.